The Shadows of New York
by Aeternus Symphony
Summary: Jen's second departure from Wes has left an impact on the time space continual. Now, with every change that occurs in the past, things change for those living in the future. What happens when Alex has had it with the changes? Updated: chapter 4!
1. Chapter 1

**Title: **The Shadows of New York

**Chapter: **(1) A New Case

**Summary:** After Jen returns from the year 2001 to the year 3000, she and Alex have broken up because of the fact that Jen's still in love with Wes. However, what happens when Alex snaps and decides it's either 'his way, or the highway'?

**Parings:**Alex/Jen, Wes/Jen, Eric/Taylor

**Timeline:** Continues a few months after 'Reinforcements from the Future'

**Disclaimer:**None of it is mine, so don't bother trying to sue a kid who's already heavily in debt with her siblings

**Note: **Ranger information was gathered from _Writer's Guide to the PR Universe_, _Power Ranger Central_, and _Wikipedia_

_The Future; Year 3001, November_

It had been two months since_ the_ _event_ had occurred. After the Mutorgs incident, Time Force had increased its security and only the officers near the top would have the power to conduct time travel. However, Lucas was more then shocked when he heard of the news that had been kept secret, about his two friends, for so long.

"He kidnapped her?"

"Yes, he did," Captain Logan confirmed with utter distaste.

"Wait a minute here," Lucas said as he tried to gather his thoughts, "so he kidnapped her, and put her through the memory acclimation machine?"

"Yes," Captain Logan nodded his head slowly, as if explaining to a child why the sky was blue.

"She's lost all her memory then?" Lucas asked in shock.

"Not all, cadet, not all. According to the monitors Commander Drake was only capable of erasing Scotts' memories up until Ransik's capture before security stepped in." The Captain began to pace around the room, making Lucas nervous.

"That wasn't that long ago though, why would he—"

"The first capture," Logan cut in, answering Lucas' question.

"She doesn't remember the past then," Lucas whispered, before taking a step back and falling into a chair behind him. "She doesn't remember Wes."

"We believe that is the reason why Commander Drake kidnapped her."

"We, sir?"

"Time Force," Captain Logan elaborated.

"I see, but sir, why is this information being revealed now? To me of all people?"

"Because cadet, you are associates with Commander Drake and cadet Scotts."

'_But the last time Jen went missing Trip was the one notified first.' _Lucas thought to himself before he plastered a mask onto his face. '_Something must be wrong.'_

"I still don't understand why you're telling me all of this. Why hasn't Time Force hasn't arrest Alex already?"

"Because Lucas," the racer's attention suddenly reverted, Captain Logan rarely called cadets by their first name, "Commander Drake and cadet Scotts, are in the year 2002."

"Shit."

"My thoughts exactly."

_The Past; Year 2002, January_

It was winter, the season that would bring upon cold weather. The season that Wesley Collins had been anticipating for weeks. While many Silver Guardian officers had been calling in for time off to spend with their families, their leader Wesley Collins had been running around picking up extra shifts. To be blunt, Wesley had become a monster.

Lurking the streets of Silver Hills and waiting for trouble to arise, the young Collins had developed a sense of insomnia. Ever since the departure of one Jennifer Scotts, it seems Wesley Collins was no longer himself. Those who didn't know him personally wouldn't be able to notice the difference, as Wesley would always have his usual smile on his face. However, those who did know him noticed the spark in his eyes dimming, more and more with each passing day.

However, the one person who had noticed the biggest change in Wesley was not his father, nor was it the family butler. It was his partner, Eric Myers, the Quantum Ranger. While seeing Jen and losing her again during the Mutorgs incident had torn Wes to pieces, it had done quite the opposite for Eric.

For the last few months, the Quantum Ranger had been seeing the Yellow Wild Force Ranger, Taylor Earhardt. At first, he claimed the meet ups were all business related, since Taylor had once been in the Air Force, and he had worked for the Silver Guardians. However, as time had passed, he was more open with the fact that he was dating someone, and was even found letting people off without tickets ever so often.

Although in some situations, time was supposed to help the heart heal, Eric found Wes' situation quite different. After trying several tactics to help his friend out, going to clubs, strip bars, etc; Eric was coming close to giving up. Unfortunately for him however, fate had another idea.

He was on his way to the Animarium with Taylor by his side when the beeping began. Pulling his car to the side of the road and turning the engine off, he and his girlfriend stepped out of the car and headed towards the back with looks of confusion on their faces.

"What's going on?" Taylor asked as Eric opens the trunk.

"I have no idea," Eric answered before opening the briefcase with the Time Force equipment. "Someone's trying to send a message."

Grabbing the two telecommunication objects out of the briefcase, he handed one to Taylor. Together, they extended the transmitter and took a step back in sync, waiting for something to happen. Almost immediately, a hologram appeared.

"Lucas!" Eric said in shock before smiling wildly. "What a surprise."

"As happy as I am to see you again Eric, I don't think we have time to exchange hellos. However, I do have to say hi to Taylor. I see you've been busy Eric." Lucas smirked, giving the Quantum Ranger a wink.

Taylor pulled her hand away from Eric's quickly, as if she had just been burned, and blushed. Eric on the other hand, bent down to Lucas' level, and stared him in the eye.

"What's with the call?"

Lucas stared at him for a few seconds before sighing. As he tried to find the words to explain to Eric what was going on, the silence ate away at the Quantum Ranger.

"Lucas, either you explain to me what's going on, or I'm hanging up." Eric threatened, giving the Blue Time Force Ranger one of his looks.

"Alright. I'm sorry." Lucas apologized, before taking a deep breath and speaking once again.

"There's no easy way to say this, but we need your help. Alex has kidnapped Jen."

"What?" Taylor cried out as a frown appeared onto Eric's face.

"Is this a joke?" He asked the Blue Ranger.

"I'm afraid not. However, that isn't the worse part."

"Do I even want to know?" Eric questioned, before looking over at Taylor.

"She doesn't remember anything about you, or Wes. Alex erased her memory."

"What?"

"And to top things off, they're in the year 2002. For the last month they've been in your time. Katie and Trip have both gone after them, but we lost contact with them four days ago. I was just told of what happened yesterday, and was asked to join the search."

"They're here?" Eric whispered, wondering to himself what Wes' reaction would be. "In Silver Hills?"

"Not precisely," Lucas added. "They're in New York City."

"The _city, _city? Or New York?" Eric asked.

"NYC Eric, the big apple." Lucas confirmed.

"Shit."

"Funny, that's what I said."

There was a moment of silence as Eric gathered his thoughts.

"Do you have anymore information regarding this?"

"Unfortunately, no; however there's one thing you won't have to worry about."

"And what may that be?"

"I'm scheduled to arrive in your time at eight this evening by the bay. Coming along with me are some of the new technology from the year 3001. It'll assist us with our capture of Alex." Lucas explained.

"Wait, assist _us_?" Eric looked up at Taylor, who had one eyebrow raised at Lucas.

"I can't, I have Ranger duties. Just because the mutants have all been returned to the future, doesn't mean all the Orgs have been destroyed." Taylor stated, giving Eric a small smile. "Leaving you on your own."

Eric gave Taylor a look of disbelief before he rose to his original height, and looked down at his girlfriend in an intimidating way. Before the Quantum Ranger could say anything though, Lucas spoke up.

"Actually, according to the history charts, there won't be any attacks for the next two to three months. Apparently they're planning big," Lucas revealed, not caring about the consequences, "but that just means you can participate in this."

"Great, another big battle." Taylor groaned, looking up towards the sky. "Will it ever stop?"

"Be careful what you wish for, it may just come true," Lucas smiled, giving Taylor another hint to the future.

Meanwhile, as the Blue and Yellow Ranger interacted amongst one another, the Quantum Ranger stood there with a frown on his face.

"Eric, you alright?" Lucas said, cutting into Eric's thoughts.

"Yeah, just thinking."

"Well, don't hurt yourself." Lucas teased, before sizing up and switching back to professional mode. "I have to go get ready to leave, but I'll see you soon."

"Yeah," Eric muttered, looking down at his watch, "in four hours, give or take."

"Drive carefully," Lucas summed up, before looking over at Taylor. "And um, don't do anything I wouldn't do."

With a quick wink, Lucas disappeared as the connection broke off.

"Eric, what are you thinking?" Taylor asked, almost scared to find out the answer.

"What's Wes gonna say when he finds out."

"Well... you can always tell him it's just a new case." Taylor suggested.

"In New York City?"

"Now that, I can't help you with."

"Wonderful. More work for Wes to throw himself at."

Please review... it's always nice to know what other people think of one's work )


	2. Chapter 2

**Title: **The Shadows of New York

**Chapter: **(2) Breaking the news

**Summary:** After Jen returns from the year 2001 to the year 3000, she and Alex have broken up because of the fact that Jen's still in love with Wes. However, what happens when Alex snaps and decides it's either 'his way, or the highway'?

**Parings:**Alex/Jen, Wes/Jen, Eric/Taylor

**Timeline:** Continues a few months after 'Reinforcements from the Future'

**Disclaimer:**None of it is mine, so don't bother trying to sue a kid who's already heavily in debt with her siblings

**Note: **Writer's block kept this from being released for a while... but hope you like it! Ranger information was gathered from _Writer's Guide to the PR Universe_, _Power Ranger Central_, and _Wikipedia_

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_The Past; Year 2002, January_

It had been weeks since the weather was this good in Silver Hills. What was originally forecasted as a day that was expecting downpour, quite the opposite had occurred. The sun was shining brightly, the sky was clear with barely any clouds in the sky, and Wesley Collins was completely miserable.

Four months had passed since Jennifer Scotts had left his time, and returned to hers—again. If the first heartbreak hadn't been enough to deal with, the second one definitely was. The first time Jen had left the past to go to the future, Wesley had gotten over it quickly, thinking that he would never see her again. However, when she returned from the future merely months later, it gave him hope. Hope that he shouldn't have had.

When the mutorgs had finally been destroyed and the Time Force rangers all had to return to their time, Wes wasn't too happy about seeing Jen leave. However, she had returned once, hadn't she? Perhaps there was a possibility she could return again, except, permanently. It wasn't until his twenty-fourth birthday, did it suddenly hit him that she may never return.

"_Wes, come on down. The guests have all arrived—even the Wild Force Rangers have stopped by." Eric Myers said through the door that separated him and his best friend._

"_I'm not in the mood Eric," Wesley's weak voice could be heard from the other room._

"_Wes, open the door now. I'm not going to stand out here talking to a plank of wood. Although its intelligence may be higher than yours." Eric said in a sarcastic tone before the door was opened seconds later._

_Stepping in, he watched as Wes stumbled back to his bed, and collapsed onto it._

"_Wes, you need to pull yourself together," Eric stated as he shut the door behind him, not wanting any of the other guests to see his friend like this—especially Wes' dad._

"_How can I Eric? Without her? How can I pull myself together?"_

_Eric flinched slightly, before a look of disgust appeared onto his face._

"_Whatever happened to the Wesley Collins that never gave up? The one that said we make our own destinies?"_

"_He died the moment Jen left to go back to the future," Wesley mumbled, before turning to his side and pulling a blanket close to himself._

"_She'd be disgusted to see you right now Wesley. You know perfectly well she can see what's going on from where she is. This isn't what she would want you to do."_

"_How do you know Eric? How do you even know?"_

"_Jen lives in the future, a future we will help create in whatever way we choose. If you're lying around like a sick dog, exactly how are you going to make a difference for our future? For her to live in?" Eric asked, curious to find out what his friend had thought._

_He received no reply._

"_Wesley?"_

"_I'll be down in a bit, just... give me some time to clean up." Wes whispered to his friend as he got out of bed and began to head towards the closet._

_Eric said no words, but he respected Wesley's request. Stepping out of his friend's bedroom, he made his way downstairs to the guests._

Ever since the conversation between Wesley and Eric had occurred, Wesley Collins had changed. He pushed himself harder than he had ever done before, and was frequently found either in his office working away or out on the streets patrolling.

"I need to make a difference Eric," Wes had told his friend when Eric had asked what was going on. "So life can be better in the future for her."

Of course, the Quantum Ranger saw past that, and knew that wasn't the real reason as to why the Red Time Force Ranger was acting the way he was. The real reason was because he wanted to forget about Jennifer Scotts. It was as if by burying himself in work could distract him from the real problem. Unfortunately for Wesley Collins, it wasn't working.

"Son, you need to go home." Alec Collins said to Wes in a concerned tone.

"In a bit dad, I still have some paperwork to go through." Wesley mumbled, not bothering to look up as he answered.

"Wesley, this isn't healthy."

"I'll be fine, don't worry." Wesley stated, continuing to work.

"You can't do this to yourself son, she wouldn't have wanted you to," Alec said at last, his words causing Wesley to look up.

"Trust me dad, I know what I'm doing." A smile appeared onto the face of Wesley Collins as he tried to reassure his father, but Alec Collins saw right past the mask. He knew his son was lying.

"Wesley..."

"I'm almost done, really." Wes said to his dad, before looking back down and returning to his work.

"The work of a ranger never ends," Alec Collins whispered under his breath to himself, before he turned around and walked away, not knowing that his son had caught his words.

It wasn't until the sound of footsteps had faded did Wesley look up from his work and sigh deeply. He agreed with his father, the work of a ranger never ends, but that wasn't the point; he still had to try and end the work.

Looking back down at his work, and continuing to skim through it for any information he had missed previously, Wesley ignored the growling sound that came from his stomach. It was nearly seven in the evening, and he hadn't eaten anything since lunch. Wes hadn't realized how hungry he was until the smell of pizza slowly flowed into his office. Finally noticing the delicious smell that attacked his senses, he got up from his desk and headed towards the exit.

"Took you a while to notice, rich boy," Eric's voice was heard, just as Wesley neared the door.

Exiting his office, he saw Eric and Taylor sitting at a table a few feet away, munching away at what looked like a large box of pizza, along with drinks and brownies.

"Eric, what are you doing here?" Wesley asked, his curiosity getting the best of him.

Commander Myers was rarely seen indoors, he was normally found outside doing more hands on work, than inside, doing paperwork. It was because of that, did it make things rather obvious whenever Eric needed help with something.

"Real warm welcome Collins." Eric took a bite out of his slice of pizza, and chewed a few times before taking a gulp of his coke.

"Why don't you take a seat, and help yourself. You look like you haven't eaten a meal all day," Eric suggested, giving the box of pizza a light push towards Wesley's direction.

Wes stared at the pizza for a moment, before reaching down and grabbing a piece. Shoving the piece into his mouth, and chewing quickly, he grabbed a chair from nearby and sat down next to his two friends.

"Hey Taylor, it's been a while," Wesley said in between a few bites as he finished his first slice of pizza, and moved onto his second.

"Yeah, I haven't seen you since your birthday. How have you been?" Taylor asked, before taking a small sip of a sprite.

"Good," Wesley answered as he continued to chew away at the slice of pizza.

"For God's sake Collins, take a breath. You're acting like a monster. Here, take a drink," Eric handed his friend a can of pop, which Wesley accepted happily.

Opening the coke that Eric had handed him, Wesley took a long drink from it.

"Don't choke yourself now," Eric said, ignoring the look Taylor threw him.

Eric Myers was stalling, and he knew it himself.

"Still yourself I see, haven't changed much huh Eric?" Wesley asked, giving the Quantum Ranger one of his rare smiles.

"Not really," Eric replied, taking another bite out of his pizza.

Silence settled amongst the three Rangers as they continued to eat their dinner. Taylor was the first to finish, as her appetite wasn't as large as the two men.

"Wes, we need to talk," Taylor said suddenly, bringing a stop to the pizza devouring.

"I figured as much, Eric never appears unless he needs help with something." Wes smiled, purposely pretending that he hadn't seen Eric's expression.

"This is serious Wesley." Taylor mumbled under her breath, sobering the situation.

There were a few seconds of tense silence while Eric looked over at Taylor in hopes of finding a way to break things easily to Wes. Finally, Wesley spoke.

"What's going on?"

"We were contacted by Lucas today. There's been a situation." Eric said with a heavy tone.

"What? What's happened? Did another mutant escape? Why are we sitting here eating when we should be—?"

"Wes, stop! We haven't even explained to you what's going on!" Taylor cried out, grabbing Wesley by the shoulder and pulling him back down into his seat.

Wes took a moment to pull himself together, before speaking.

"What's the situation then?"

"A rogue time force officer from the future has kidnapped someone, and traveled back to our time... they're asking for our help to find and arrest the jumper." Eric explained, trying to break the news as lightly as he could.

"That's it? Find someone and arrest them?" Wes asked, raising his eyebrow at the case that Eric had just handed him.

"It's not just that Wes," Eric whispered, taking a deep breath and sighing.

"Then what?" Wesley asked, staring at his best friend with a worried expression.

"It's Alex Wes, Alex is the rogue officer."

"What? That... that's not possible," Wes exclaimed.

"There's more then that Wesley." Taylor stated, before looking over to Eric, waiting for him to break the most important part of the news.

"What? Tell me already!" Wes demanded after Eric remained silent for a few seconds.

"The person who Alex kidnapped..." Eric looked up just in time to see Wes turn pale, as if realization had finally hit him, "is Jen."

Author Notes: Please review!


	3. Chapter 3

**Title: **The Shadows of New York

**Chapter: **(3) Memories

**Summary:** After Jen returns from the year 2001 to the year 3000, she and Alex have broken up because of the fact that Jen's still in love with Wes. However, what happens when Alex snaps and decides it's either 'his way, or the highway'?

**Parings:**Alex/Jen, Wes/Jen, Eric/Taylor

**Timeline:** Continues a few months after 'Reinforcements from the Future'

**Disclaimer:**None of it is mine, so don't bother trying to sue a kid who's already heavily in debt with her siblings

**Note: **Ranger information was gathered from _Writer's Guide to the PR Universe_, _Power Ranger Central_, and _Wikipedia_

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"_The person who Alex kidnapped..." Eric looked up just in time to see Wes turn pale, as if realization had finally hit him, "is Jen."_

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Wesley stared at Eric for a moment, speechless and in shock. Then all hell broke loose.

"Why are we still sitting here? When did this happen? Why hasn't anyone done anything?" Wesley jumped to his feet and ran into his office. From the sounds of briefcases opening, and ammunition being loaded into guns, it sounded as if Wesley was preparing for World War Three.

"Wes you need to sit down, we weren't finish explaining—" Eric and Taylor both stood up and began to walk towards Wesley's office, but they hadn't even taken two steps before Wesley stepped back out into the room.

With a PRO-9 nine millimeter pistol in his right hand, and what looked like an auto-gun swung over his left shoulder, Wesley Collins would have looked somewhat scary—had he not been in a suit.

"Wes what are you doing?" Eric asked, walking up to his best friend and blocking his way.

"He'll be expecting us to attack with weapons from the future—this might catch him off guard and—"

"Wes you need to slow down!" Taylor cried out, staring at the Red Ranger in shock.

"Why? If what you say is true, Jen's being held against her own will and—"

Wesley was cut off as Eric's fist collided with his jaw. He crashed to the floor, and it wasn't until he looked up with a murderous look in his eyes did Eric realize it wasn't the greatest idea to hit an armed man. However, he had to.

"Jen doesn't remember you Wes."

A look of confusion fell upon Wesley's face, before pain replaced it.

"What?"

"She doesn't remember any of us!" Eric's voice began to rise. "Alex put her through one of the memory acclimation machines. She has no memory of any of us, or you."

"No—that's not possible." Wesley whispered, shaking his head as if he was trying to convince himself.

"According to the message Lucas just sent us, it was. He's arriving in a bit at the beach, we are to meet him there and then discuss what the next move is—"

"But Jen—" Wesley cut in.

"Is safe for now; Alex has no reason to harm her." Eric pointed out to the red ranger.

Wesley lay on the ground for a few seconds, letting the information sink in before he let out a deep sigh and dropped the weapons he had.

"Where is she," Wes asked at last.

"In—"

"We don't know." Taylor cut Eric off, giving him a quick look before Wesley had noticed.

"Taylor—"

"But Lucas does."

Eric suddenly caught on.

"Wes, if you want to find her you'll have to meet up with Lucas with us. There's no other way we can track them down like this. There are over 6.5 billion people on this planet; we have to wait for Lucas to arrive before we can start searching. It'd be like looking for a needle in a haystack—a haystack the size of Texas, and in the dark."

There was a moment of silence before Wes got to his feet.

"Then what are we waiting for? Let's go."

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_**New York City, America; present time**_

"_I wish you would stay."_

"_Me too, but we both know I can't." She pulled a badge out of her jacket pocket._

"_I want you to have this. Don't ever forget me."_

"_Never could."_

_She turned around to walk away, but suddenly stops and runs back to hug him._

"_I should've told you this a long time ago, I love you."_

"_I love you too. I wish I could live a thousand years so we could be together again."_

_FLASH!_

"_I don't care what this machine does to me. I'll never forget you, and I'm proud to be your friend. I'm only sad that you never knew how much you mean to me..."_

_FLASH!_

"Jennifer, wake up, you're having a bad dream."

Her eyes opened, and Jennifer Scotts sat up from the couch she had fallen asleep on. She had that dream again, the dream about the man who looked like Alex.

"Jennifer, are you alright?"

Jennifer looked up at Alex, her fiancé, and smiled weakly.

"I'm fine."

"Why didn't you sleep in the bedroom? You could catch a cold out here," Alex said as he handed her a blanket.

"I had a mild headache, so I thought I'd just rest my eyes. I guess I fell asleep without noticing." Jennifer whispered, before she placed the blanket around herself, resisting a light shiver. She refused to worry Alex, but somehow she had failed to do so.

"Do you need to see a doctor? Do you still have a headache?"

"No, the headache's gone," Jennifer said with a sigh of relief, before giving Alex a smile.

"You're home early. How did it go?"

The frown that Alex had on his face grew more intense, and he sat down next to her on the couch before continuing.

"I don't think we'll be returning to the future anytime soon. Divinder's gone missing—"

"What? But we've spent the last two months..."

"I know. I'm sorry Jennifer. I'm doing everything I can to track him down. I even tried contacting Time Force—"

"What do you mean tried?" Jen cut in while a look of panic slowly formed.

Silence filled the room before Alex finally spoke.

"I don't know what's going on, but we've lost all connecting with the future."

Thoughts of fear and terror filled Jennifer's mind as realization hit.

"Does this mean we can't go back?"

"I don't know, but we must stay calm. Our mission is to find Divinder, exterminate him—"

"Alex we don't even know what he looks like! All we know is that he somehow has weapons from the future, and he knows of Time Force. How are we going to find him?"

"He... he knows we're in New York. He'll try and find us before we find him."

"How do you know that?" Jennifer asked.

"Someone's been asking around about us, but that's not what we have to worry about right now. Jennifer, I don't know for sure right now, but there's a possibility that we may never return to the future. We have to prepare for the worse."

"But Alex—"

"Don't start panicking. I'll continue trying to get in touch with Time Force, I'm just telling you this so you'll be ready to handle the news—if the worse ever happen." Alex said, raising his hand and placing it onto Jennifer's arm.

"It's late. You should get some sleep."

Alex rose from the couch and began to head towards the kitchen.

"What about you?"

"I bought some food on the way home, care to join me?"

Jennifer shook her head.

"Like you said, it's late. I think I'll head to bed. Good-night Alex," Jennifer mumbled as she got up and headed towards her bedroom.

The door closed gently and a light click could be heard as Jennifer locked her room. Alex sighed deeply and rubbed his eyes. Although he and Jennifer had been engaged for so long, Jennifer still stuck to tradition and insisted that the two of them slept in separate bedrooms during the mission.

Continuing his journey towards the kitchen, Alex grabbed the two bags of McDonalds he had purchased on his way back. Making his way down the stairs, Alex arrived in the basement of the house.

He placed the food on a table and sat down on a wooden chair. Leaning forward, he pealed off a piece of duct tape.

"Hungry, cadets?" he asked with a smirk.

"You won't get away with this," a voice groaned out weakly.

Alex laughed lightly.

"You don't get it. I already have."

Leaning forward and removing another piece of duct tape, he grabbed the two bags of McDonalds and poured its contents onto the table. Fries spilled across the surface, and there were even a few wrapped burgers.

"Enjoy eating without your hands, cadets. Remember to conserve your food. I'll see you tomorrow evening. Have a good meal, Trip; Katie."


	4. Chapter 4

Title: The Shadows of New York

**Title: **The Shadows of New York

**Chapter: **(4) The Mind of Alex

**Summary:** After Jen returns from the year 2001 to the year 3000, she and Alex have broken up because of the fact that Jen's still in love with Wes. However, what happens when Alex snaps and decides it's either 'his way, or the highway'?

**Parings:**Alex/Jen, Wes/Jen, Eric/Taylor

**Timeline:** Continues a few months after 'Reinforcements from the Future'

**Disclaimer:**None of it is mine, so don't bother trying to sue a kid who's already heavily in debt with her siblings AND trying to pay for college tuition fees.

**Note: **Ranger information was gathered from _Writer's Guide to the PR Universe_, _Power Ranger Central_, and _Wikipedia_

**Author's Note:** _This chapter basically sums up what led to Alex turning bad. It's a lot of information and random dialouge, and I apologize if it's dull, but it'll help explain a lot several chapters down the line. Also, a lot of the dialogue between Alex and Jen were just improvised, they weren't directly quoted from the show. And at last... I'm sorry for taking so long to update. One thing's for sure though: I'm back._

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"_Hungry, cadets?" he asked with a smirk._

"_You won't get away with this," a voice groaned out weakly. _

_Alex laughed lightly._

"_You don't get it. I already have." _

_Leaning forward and removing another piece of duct tape, he grabbed the two bags of McDonalds and poured its contents onto the table. Fries spilled across the surface, and there were even a few wrapped burgers._

"_Enjoy eating without your hands, cadets. Remember to conserve your food. I'll see you tomorrow evening. Have a good meal, Trip; Katie."_

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_**New York City, America; present time**_

He closed the door behind him and punched the pin into the security key pad. After making sure the door was securely locked and no sound could escape through the soundproof wall, he then opened another door. The door was a tiny closet full of jackets and suits. He entered the closet and pulled out a key that hung on a necklace around his neck; he locked the door behind him.

Now standing in the dark, he moved the clothes that hung in the closet to the left and felt around for another doorknob. When he found it he unlocked the door again and stepped through into his own bedroom. He shut the closet door and locked it again.

The way he was acting was suspicious, and if Jen had stumbled across his secret hideaway the first thing she'd do is ask why he never told her they had a basement.

It was because of this that Alex wished he still lived in the year 3001. Things were so simple back then. Or should he say, in the future. There had never been a need to feed prisoners; criminals were always sentenced to cryogenic containment. But then again, Trip and Katie were both far from criminals.

The two Time Force rangers had followed him from the year 3001, and for the last four weeks Alex had been moving around America with Jen trying to avoid collision with them. His excuse was that the man they were following was on the move.

_Divinder_

He was the criminal that they had been sent to capture. He was the 'case' that had been handed to them. The story was that a man named Divinder had broke into the Time Force headquarters and traveled to the past to change the future. As a team, Alex and Jen had gone up against him, and according to Alex, Divinder had managed to take Jen down before making his way to the time machines. Alex, unable to simply leave Jen there, injured, but also unable to just let Divinder leave, made the decision to chase after the criminal into the past, bringing the unconscious Lieutenant with him.

Of course, that was just the story Alex fed Jen when she finally woke up. The 'blow to the head' that Divinder had given her had resulted in her memory loss of the battle, and she couldn't remember a single thing about a criminal breaking into headquarters at all. Then again, that was exactly how Alex wanted things to occur.

It was the perfect explanation too, but then Time Force stepped in and ruined things.

The whole thing was a rough situation, especially for Alex, as he was thinking overdrive trying to plot out the next steps of the plan. He knew that Time Force would be sending more cadets after them, and his guess what that Lucas would be next. Of course, the racer wouldn't try to apprehend Alex and save Jen on his own – he'd contact Wesley Collins and Eric Myers first.

Collins. The mere thought of the name brought forth anger to Alex. _He_ was the reason why Jen had changed. _He _was the reason why the future was suddenly so different. Alex had checked the history logs: every time Wesley Collins had done something, a rift occurred and the future would change, ever so slightly.

At first, nobody really noticed... which was weird, because usually when great changes occurred in the past, those working on the higher levels of Time Force would notice immediately. For some reason though, they hadn't noticed the memory over lapse.

The commander didn't know what it was like for the others, but it had started small for him, as a dream – a dream where he had grown up differently in the past. By the time Alex woke, the dream had already attached itself to him, replacing the original memory in his mind, and leaving behind a fuzzy deja vu feeling.

Alex sat down on his bed and leaned forward, covering his face with his hands and sighing. Whatever it was that Wesley had done, it had somehow messed with him. For some reason, his childhood, his past, and even the historical ancestry behind the Collins family name had all changed in the last few months.

Before, the Collins were known to their friends as caring parents to their children... however, in Alex's brand new memories, they were strict and almost cold. Shutting his eyes, he could hear the conversations returning again.

_'We are who we are today because of Time Force. The rangers traveled to the past to save the future. It is our duty to follow through with what we're destined to do, son, and o__ur duty is to help lead Time Force, that was established nearly a millennium ago.'_

His father, teaching him the ways of the family...

_'Mom, why is dad never home?'_

_'He's at work, honey. He's trying to make the future a better place for you.'_

_'The future?'_

_'Oh sweetie, you'll understand one day.'_

His mother, trying her hardest to take care of him on her own...

_'You're not trying hard enough Alex! You and I both know you can be the Red Ranger! You're destined to be the Red Ranger! It's in your blood! Come on! Get up! Don't just lie there!'_

_'Dad, I can't - '_

_'It's Commander, cadet. You and I both know I shouldn't need to train you.'_

_'Sir...'_

_'Get up and finish what you started!'_

Failure, teaching him to try harder in order to reach success.

_'You're Alex, right? The new Captain?'_

_'You are?'_

_'Jennifer Scotts. I just recently joined.'_

The first time he had met Jen; that memory had barely changed...

_'For the next six months I will be training you. You can refer to me as Captain, or sir. First things first, all of you need to know that here at Time Force, we do things by the book! If any of you cross even a toe out of line, you'll be out of here... yes, Cadet...'_

_'Scotts, Jennifer Scotts. We met earlier.'_

_'Do you have a question?'_

_'No Captain, I just wanted to introduce myself. I noticed attendance hadn't been taken.'_

_'Indeed, I wasn't planning on taking it until after the laps had been done.'_

_'If you don't mind me asking sir, what... laps?'_

_'The twenty laps around the field that you have just earned you and your team. Thirty for you.'_

_'What?!'_

_'Not enough? Speaking out of order, p__erhaps a discussion about the standards is needed after the session? And what are all of you still waiting for? Get out there!'_

The first training session they had together. He had never been this harsh the first time around.

_'Finished, I see.'_

_'Not sir, not yet... one more to go...'_

_'You can stop now, Scotts.'_

_'It's Jen, actually.'_

_'Excuse me?'_

_'My name's Jen. You just told me to stop, meaning training session is over, right? No more formalities?'_

It was her boldness that first caught his attention. It was what caused him to fall for her.

_'Cadet.'_

_'Yes, sir?'_

_'What are you doing tomorrow evening?'_

_'Nothing as of yet sir, why do you ask?'_

_'There's a new screening of the Zords, I was uh, wondering if you'd like to accompany me.'_

_'Are you asking me out on a date?'_

_'Yes. No. I mean... you're doing... poorly in the class. You could use the visit as a learning experience.'_

_'Evaluations were last week. I scored highest out of the class.'_

_'Learning experience, Scotts. Do you want to go, or not?'_

_'What time are you picking me up?'_

They used the excuse of work when they were seen together to lessen the suspicion...

_'You do realize I could lose my job over this.'_

_'If I recalled Alex, you were the one who asked me out.'_

Yet in the end, work also kept them apart

_'Hey, I just heard about the promotion. Congrats, Major!'_

_'Thanks. I booked us a reservation at The Ritz for tonight, pick you up at seven?'_

_'Ritz? Isn't there usually a three month waiting list? Pretty confident that you'd get the promotion, huh?'_

Overall, he still cared more about her than the job though. Just like he had originally.

_'Alex, what is this?'_

_'Happy Anniversary.'_

He even remembered their anniversary; they had even celebrated in public.

_'You know how it is Jen. Not until Ransik is caught. I can't put you at risk like that.'_

_'Alex, it's been three years!'_

_'Trust me, please. You know how it is, how it'll be: you and me...'_

_'Forever.'_

He worried for her, always. Worried that he would lose her, that someone would find out. That was part of the reason why he tried so hard to put Ransik away.

_'You know, now that Ransik and his gang of mutants are finally going to be put away, I think we're going to have a little more time to spend together.'_

_'Hm, it would be nice to spend some time with my boyfriend...'_

_'I was thinking of something... a little more permanent... Jennifer, will you marry me?'_

_'Yes!'_

When the time finally came, he knew it was meant to be. That's how it was to work out – destiny. However, fate had other ideas.

_'What? Where... where am I?'_

_'Major Collins, please, don't move. You just barely survived an attack with Ransik. You have to rest.'_

_'Where's Jen? She was there... where is she? Where is she, doctor?'_

_'She's in the past, Alex.'_

_'Logan?'_

_'The tales were true, four Time Force rangers have traveled to the past. Ransik managed to get aboard one of the time ships.'_

He was overwhelmed. He never expected to be apart of the generation that changed history on such a grand scale.

_'Dad, you were right. The time finally came.'_

_'What time? What are you doing here? Why aren't you at Headquarters? Working?'_

_'Time Force traveling to the past, dad. It's finally happened.'_

_'Time Force's traveled to the past? What... what are you still doing here for? Why didn't you go with them?'_

_'Dad, I don't think I was apart of the plan...'_

_'No! It's not like that. You're supposed to go back as well! You have to!'_

_'Dad, don't get up! You're sick!'_

_'Don't touch me! You're a disgrace! I can't believe you're still standing here doing nothing! You should be helping the rangers! Our ancestors dedicated their lives to making the future a better place, and you're just standing there letting it fall apart! Why are you still here?'_

The voices got louder, and Alex grabbed his head in pain. He couldn't get them to leave! Echoing, and echoing, the ache grew with each passing second. At last, he could take it no longer; his conscious mind shut off, and his subconscious took over.

Memories continued to replace one another.

_Please review; my writing style has changed in the last year so I'd like to know what you, as the reader, thinks of it. Thanks _


End file.
